Textile exporters cry hoarse over foreign trade policy

Mumbai: Textile exporters are feeling let down by the new foreign trade policy (FTP), which they said has ignored the cotton yarn sector. The Commerce Ministry announced the much-awaited FTP on Wednesday.

Texprocil Chairman R K Dalmia, in a statement, said the FTP outlines the vision, goals and objectives for the country's export-import sector for 2015-20, but wondered if the high export targets set by the government are going to be achieved by promoting exports of handloom and coir products.

The government has also set the goalpost of USD 900 billion by 2019-20 from the current level of USD 465.9 billion in 2013-14.

While lauding the macro aspects of the policy, he regretted that a sector like textile and clothing, the second-largest employment provider in the country, has not got its due in the FTP.

The textile sector has been granted duty scrips of 2 percent only for mainstream cotton textile products at a time when it's facing challenges in the form of high tariffs and barriers due to preferential tariff arrangements.

In contrast, higher rates have been given for handlooms, carpets, coir products under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS).

"Sectors like cotton yarn have been totally ignored, especially at a time when exports of these products have declined sharply and face high logistics cost when exported to markets like Latin America," he said.